Not very “wild”, but pretty drinkable and reasonably refreshing. A fairly authentic interpretation of the style, in my opinion. Part of the “Craft Cousins” 4-pack of Parallel 49 collaborations with Alberta breweries. (15/20)

Another solid performer from Ribstone Creek. I wasn’t all that thrilled with their basic American IPA and APA that I tried a couple of years ago, but then more recently they blew me away with their White IPA and DIPA, and this continues that track record. Pretty much ticks all the boxes for the style, fruity and mild and easy to drink – and with a fairly restrained ABV, you can drink several if you’re so inclined! (16/20)

Given the name, someone unfamiliar with the series might be forgiven for expecting a Black IPA. Of course, this being the fourteenth in the series I’ve tried, I had no such erroneous expectation. I was rather hoping this would continue the upward trend established by the past few examples, but that would become exponentially more difficult to do, so I’m not overly surprised it doesn’t. I really am starting to think they really are hitting the bottom of the barrel with regards to hop selection, given they’re up to more than 20 of these things now, maybe 30. In any case, Bravo hops, at 14-17% alpha acid, are really more of a bittering hop than an aroma one, and it shows here: although it’s cleanly implemented, it tends more earthy than citrus, pine, or floral. This would be a great DIPA if it were, say, ten years ago, or even five, but the state of the art has moved on. That said, it’s solid, well-done, and fairly accessible for such an aggressive beast, so I have no real complaints here – but it’s not really all that interesting. (15/20)

Pretty unremarkable in general, which I guess makes it pretty terrible by Liefmans’ standards. (Mind you, their Fruitesse was actually worse, so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.) The excessive sweetness prevents it from being refreshing, and the pineapple threatens to overwhelm everything. It’s not actually bad, but I think it would get pretty cloying if I tried to drink more than the tiny 250ml bottle. Clearly there’s a reason they tell you to pour it over lots of ice. (14/20)

I’m not entirely convinced this is a “true” New England-style IPA, since there’s a definite slightly dank pine note in the aroma, and the bitterness is just slightly high on the tongue (for the style, certainly not in absolute terms). It’s also not all that juicy, nor is it opaquely cloudy as is so typical with the style. However, what it is, is a very good beer. Overall, it’s flavourful, mild, and approachable. (16/20)

The Missus thought it was fine, but I found it way too sweet. No surprise when I checked the label and confirmed, yep, fructose added. I’m an utter sucker for Radlers, but even so this is pretty marginal – I mean, the base beer is already pretty light, and hitting it with sugary lemonade like this just washes it out completely. Think Bud Light and Lemon Pledge, and you’re not far off the mark… (11/20)